As a somewhat inadequate father, I have hardly attended any parent-teacher conferences at my child’s school over the past few years. Most of the time, it’s been my wife who attends, and occasionally, when the timing is inconvenient, even my mother-in-law has had to step in. However, this time, under my wife’s strong insistence, I reluctantly went.

The event consisted of several segments, including classroom observation, off-campus practical activities, and an evening gathering.

Classroom Observation

The main focus was observing the classroom environment. It must be said that the learning conditions for children today are vastly superior to what we experienced in our childhood. At least during my 18 years of schooling, I never knew what air conditioning felt like. In fact, during elementary school, our classrooms didn’t even have electricity. On overcast or rainy days, students sitting at the back could barely see what the teacher wrote on the blackboard. Summers were unbearably hot, and winters were bitterly cold. When the classroom windows broke, they were often patched up with newspapers. The howling north wind would make us shiver during class, and it was common for our fingers, toes, and ears to develop frostbite.

Off-Campus Practical Activities

This time, the off-campus activity took us to the local meteorological bureau. Under the guidance of the staff, the children learned basic meteorological knowledge indoors, simulated weather broadcasts, and visited the outdoor weather observation station to understand the functions and principles of various meteorological instruments. Compared to previous visits to factory production lines, the meteorological bureau was more effective in sparking the children’s interest. My child was even determined to compete for the role of weather broadcaster during the class committee elections and, fortunately, succeeded in securing the position.

Evening Gathering

Since my child attends a day class within a boarding school, and there are only a few such special classes in the entire school, it’s easy to recognize the parents of my child’s classmates during daily drop-offs and pickups. However, at this event, the majority of attendees were still mothers, with fathers being relatively few in number. It seems that fathers not liking to attend such events is a common phenomenon.